It was a fun Native American Heritage Night at Royal Valley on Friday and the Panthers capped the night by celebrating their third straight Big 7 League title after the Sabetha girls snuck away with a comeback win.

BOYS = Royal Valley 57, Sabetha 42

Royal Valley jumped to a 15-5 lead and never looked back in route to improving to 18-1 on the season. The Panthers were ahead 26-15 at halftime then scored only two points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, but Sabetha missed a few three's and came up empty of several possesions and could never get closer than 28-20.

Nahcs Wahwassuck scored 26 points, with at least that many now in three straight games following the only RV loss of the season. Brady Klotz had 13 points and KJ Miller managed 10 despite an off-shooting night as the Panthers played without Mason Thomas who was attending a family funeral. On top of winning their third straight league title, #4 ranked Royal Valley has locked up the top seed for the 3A Sub State at Silver Lake as they look to return to the state tournament where they made their first apperance in school history last year. 

Sabetha had 21 turnovers on the night with two key starters battling foul trouble. Matthew Garber hit five treys and scored 19 points while Davis Rokey added 11 and Christian McAfee had 8 in very limited minutes. The Bluejays drop to 15-4 overall and 10-3 in the Big 7 with one game left against Hiawatha on Tuesday.  

GIRLS = Sabetha 32, Royal Valley 30

Sabetha only had two leads all night as the Jays went ahead 28-27 on two straight buckets by Mikenna Haverkamp with 5:30 to play in the fourth quarter and then Emily Krebs scored the final four points of the night in the last 46 seconds as she converted an and-one three-point-play to go ahead 31-30 then adding a free throw with nine seconds remaining. 

Mary Lukert scored 8 of her 11 in the third period to get Sabetha going, including a couple triples in the third quarter as Sabetha trailed 8-2 after one quarter and 16-8 at halftime. The Lady Bluejays avoided a third matchup against top seed Silver Lake as the bottom seed in the 3A loaded Silver Lake Sub State as they improved to 9-10 on the season with their third straight win to stand at 8-5 in league play. 

Royal Valley led twice by 11 points in the first half including 13-2 out of the gate. But despite holding a 27-23 lead entering the fourth period, they were outscored 9-3 in the final stanza. It was the sixth straight loss for Royal Valley who is 7-12 overall and will likely face Silver Lake their next two games, including a Tuesday matchup to end the regular season. 

Citizens State Bank and Trust Company of Hiawatha Players to Bank On:

Mary Lukert of Sabetha and Nahcs Wahwassuck from Royal Valley